1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to canes for the use of the visually impaired, and specifically as an addition to the traditional cane used by this population to permit greater awareness of obstacles and impediments in the path of the user.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A blind or visually handicapped person uses a cane for the purpose of sensing that an obstacle, danger, or other form of hinderance is imminent.
Heretofore, users tapped and swung the cane from side to side in an arc in front of the user. The tapping occurs at the extreme left and the extreme right sides of the arc, the width of the swing determined by the width of the user's body. If the arc is sufficiently wide, then the cane will encounter an obstacle prior to its being hit by the person's body, thus allowing the person to stop or otherwise deal with the encounter.
The tapping at each end of the arc is to inform the traveler of the kind of terrain being traversed and to find any depressions or rises in the surface, such as holes or pits or steps that could cause the person to fall. The cane has to be tapped and then immediately raised above the surface being walked upon, lest the cane get caught, stuck or hung up on an obstacle. Thus, the user makes a quick tap at the end of each arc and the arc is made high enough to bring the cane above the surface or walking media until it comes down on the other side where it is likewise tapped again and then returned to the opposite side. This procedure is repeated until the person stops walking. Objects not falling within the tapping range of the cane are not detected. E.g., puddles, holes in the ground, and objects directly in the path of the user, which are large enough to trip over, but not large enough to be detected by the cane in its arc will not be detected. In the tap and swing technique, the cane is travelling through the air in its arc from side to side most of the time. This means that the terrain itself is not continuously sampled. Since the cane tip remains above the surface, the flow of information is not constant or immediately discernable with every change in terrain.
Prior canes used tips of various forms including wheels and rollers to improve their usefulness. None of the devices are well adapted for use on a variety of surfaces, from city pavements, to grassy areas, to uneven surfaces. These tips could still be caught in cracks in pavement, or in other obstacles they might encounter as they are swung from side to side.
The wheel or roller are meant to be used with constant contact with the surface being walked upon, and hence does not allow the user to have awareness laterally before him or her during walking, since the device is merely pushed forward. They are easily hung up and are suddenly stopped by cracks in the surface or larger holes as well as by vegetation on or to the sides of the walkway. "Wheel" canes must have a fairly smooth and continuous surface. Gravel, earth, sand, brick, cobblestones, etc., are not conducive to the use of a wheel or roller.
The invention provides an improved cane for use by the visually handicapped, and more specifically provides a cane whose tip shape allows the user to have it in continuous contact with the ground as it is moved from side to side. The invention provides a cane whose tip allows the user to avoid entanglement with objects or crevices in the path, which allows the visually impaired to walk in any terrain, to receive kinesthetic clues through the vibration of the cane as it traverses the terrain, to receive auditory clues as sound is reflected from its surface and to receive sufficient indication of impending change, e.g., puddles, construction barriers, curbs, etc. Acoustically the reverberations of the tip assist the user in detecting objects much in advance of physically contacting them.
Users of traditional canes can quickly learn to use this modified technique.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a cane which produces a sound as it moves along the ground, thereby to serve as notice to other pedestrians that someone is approaching.
The vibration running through the tip of the cane into the hand of the traveler makes this cane valuable to a deaf-blind user. The constant sensation of knowing by feeling through the hand the nature of the surface gives the deaf-blind user otherwise unknown information and a greater sense of confidence.
Further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.